Strange Creatures
by Scarecrowqueen
Summary: Because even the Guardian of Fun has downtime to spend with his kid brother. Except, said brother isn't really much of a kid, anymore... Jackrabbit, Jamie/OC, future fic. Part of the Heart(h) verse.


"What strange creatures brothers are!"  
― Jane Austen

Jamie thumped up the stairs, his footfalls the heavy purposefulness of youth. Down the hallway he clomped, flinging the door to his room wide with a casual air and slouching through. Closing the door behind him, he grunted in greeting to the lithe figure stretched out on his stomach across Jamie's bed, bottom lip caught between straight white teeth in concentration as he jabbed madly at the Gameboy in his hands.

Jack was over visiting again, obviously. Over the years it had become so commonplace that Jamie had taken to leaving his door unlocked so the other boy could slip in whenever, having been granted free reign of Jamie's prolific book, movie, music, and video game collection. The agreement was that Jack could do whatever he pleased to entertain himself, as long as he didn't get caught at it, because explaining to Jamie's parents why his television suddenly started playing DVD's in the middle of the day apparently on its own just wouldn't go over well. The result was that Jack seemed to be crashing on his bed when he come home more often than not, especially during this time of year, when Jack's husband was still sleeping off the post-Easter comedown, and Jack was caught in what was his 'off-season,' the time when winter was visiting neither hemisphere. Jamie didn't mind Jack showing up randomly and uninvited; his brother was always good company, if a little easily distracted by his latest obsession. Right now it was oldschool Zelda games. At least the iceberg had taste.

"Hey Jack." Jamie said, greeting him properly as he sat heavily on the edge of the bed beside the other boy. Jack flipped the game off and grinned, setting the handheld console aside as he sat up.

"Hey kid, good to see you." Jack reached over to ruffle Jamie's hair, the latter easily batting Jack's hands away in irritation. Jack may have been older, but he was mostly stuck as a twiggy little fourteen year old, while Jamie had grown into a respectable six feet of eighteen year old man. He'd never be as broad as his father, the ex college football player, but Jamie certainly wasn't the smallest kid in the hallways at school, for sure. Not that it ever discouraged Jack from treating him like the eight year old he'd been when they met. For his part, Jack just rolled his eyes as his teasing was cut short, used to the brush off now that Jamie stood head and shoulders above him. "Fine then, be that way! See if I decide to congratulate you on your acts of sexual congress now, Jerk." Jack's grin was pure mischief as Jamie found himself choking on air.

"Jack, what the hell?" Jamie's face flared red under Jack's playful scrutiny. "I mean, how'd you know?"

"I didn't, I was just guessing based on the half-empty box of condoms I found while snooping through your stuff. But thanks for confirming it, well done." Jamie blinked; opening and closing his mouth a couple of times like a fish before spluttering out a reply.

"You went through my stuff?" Man, it was a good thing Jamie's parents weren't home, because that had gone a little higher-pitched then he'd meant, and he knew it could've been heard downstairs. "Jesus Jack, why'd you do that?" Jack shrugged carelessly.

"Felt like it." Jamie sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation. Not like he should've expected any less from the guy who'd wooed his husband by waltzing into his home and pretty much appointed himself into the position of housewife.

"Still, Jack, privacy!" I deserve a little, don't I?"

"Sure! Just as soon as you tell me all about it. Details kid, I need details." Jack's grin was positively wicked and Jamie found himself groaning in embarrassment, burning face hiding in his hands.

"No way man, totally not going there. At all. A Gentleman never kisses and tells anyways, right?" Jack just laughed, despite having been the one to tell Jamie that nugget in the first place.

"Come on Jamie, what happened to the kid who once asked me how a human Popsicle and a giant alien bunny rabbit 'did it?'"

That was it, Jamie was going to die of shame right here; they'd have to put 'It's All Jack's Fault' on his tombstone. He hoped Sophie would be nice enough to throw out his more questionable magazine collection before his mother went through his stuff and found it.

"Ok, we're seriously going to drag that up again? I was a kid! I was curious! It was a legitimate question, you fantastic asshole!"

"You're right, it was, and I'll leave you alone. I just gotta know, Felicia and you, you're good?" Jamie dared to peek at Jack from between his fingers. The manic smile had faded, and in its place was a gentle, encouraging grin. Jamie knew this face, it was Jack's 'big brother special' and being the target of it always gave him the warm fuzzies because it meant that Jack cared, that of all the kids Jack spent time with, that he watched over, Jamie was special, because Jack kept coming back.

And for that, magnificent bastard or not, Jamie would never turn his brother away, or give him a reason to never return.

"Yeah, we're good." Jamie said, thinking of his Fee's reddish hair, the constellations of freckles across her shoulders, the beautiful arches of her feet. Yeah, they were good, alright. Better than, in fact. Jamie lifted his head from his hands, doing to his to offer Jack a reassuring grin while ignoring his flushed cheeks.

"Awesome.' There was a bit of an awkward pause, as both boys stared at each other while gathering their thoughts. Jack was the first to break it, suddenly turning to grab an item off the bedside table. "Ok, moment over, here, take this." Jack chucked a wireless controller into Jamie's lap, leaning over to turn on the ancient TV that turned all the people just a little bit green, and putting the disk for one of their favorite fighting games into the console. "Hope you're ready kid, cause I ain't leaving till your ass is grass." Jack arched an eyebrow and pursed his lips to make a 'tough guy' face and Jamie couldn't stop the laugh at his antics.

"You're a freakshow Jack. Also delusional if you think you're gonna win." Jack's laugh was bright, like a slice of sunshine though a raincloud.

"You're on brat, best two out of three, loser has to sneak downstairs and steal cookies from the cupboard."

Four hours on, they'd fallen asleep to best 14 out of 15. On the narrow twin bed with the handmade quilt, two teenagers slumped dozing onto each other's shoulders. When Aster came looking for Jack, he found them; controllers and empty bag of Oreos forgotten as they dreamed; separately, but still together.

"There is a little boy inside the man who is my brother... Oh, how I hated that little boy. And how I love him too."  
― Anna Quindlen


End file.
